William Campbell Combined School held its commencement for the Class of 2025 in May 2025, where Kayla Hudgins was recognized as valedictorian and Cullen Whitmore as salutatorian and graduates were declared eligible to receive diplomas under authority of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the Campbell County School Board.

The ceremony recognized top academic performers, program completers and students who earned college credit or technical certificates. Kayla Hudgins, the school’s valedictorian, graduated with a cumulative GPA of 4.3906 and will attend the University of Virginia in the fall to study aerospace engineering. Cullen Whitmore, the salutatorian, graduated with a cumulative GPA of 4.3538 and is a graduate of the Central Virginia Governor’s School; he plans to attend the University of Virginia to study literature.

The event presented multiple honors and program acknowledgements used by the school to document student achievement. Organizers named a top-10 roster of seniors and multiple JP Stevens award winners — a local tradition that recognizes students in subject areas that the ceremony described as including English, history, science, mathematics, vocational education, world language, music and fine arts. The JP Stevens winners announced included Cullen Whitmore (mathematics) and Kayla Hudgins (science). Other subject winners included Madeleine Talbert (English) and Amy Luquez Ruiz (fine arts).

School staff also recognized students who met the state’s early college scholar criteria and those who completed programs at the Campbell County Technical Center. The ceremony listed more than a dozen students identified as early college scholars and multiple students who received diplomas or certificates from the technical center for one- or two-year programs. The transcript specifically identified students and program affiliations with acronyms used at the ceremony, including CVCC and the Lynchburg Regional Governors STEM Academy.

Peyton Francis, Student Council Association president, opened portions of the program and urged graduates to persevere, saying, “Get it done.” An invited student speaker told classmates, “Today is not just the end, it’s also the beginning.” Cullen Whitmore, the salutatorian, urged peers to engage with their communities and to “Be confident,” remarks repeated in his address.

School leaders and the ceremony emcee reminded the audience that graduates met requirements set by the Virginia Department of Education, the Campbell County School Board and the faculty of William Campbell Combined School. At the ceremony’s close the principal declared, “By the authority vested in me by the Commonwealth of Virginia and the Campbell County School Board, I hereby declare you graduates and alumni of William Campbell Combined School.” The principal then led the recessional and directed faculty and graduates to recess; the audience was asked to meet graduates after the recessional.

The program combined formal recognitions with personal remarks from students and staff. Speakers highlighted extracurricular achievements — athletics, band and student leadership — and honored students who contributed to school service projects. The ceremony also listed the names of honor graduates (minimum 3.0 GPA through the end of senior year) and the school’s top-10 seniors, who were recognized on stage.

No formal board votes or policy decisions were made during the ceremony; the only formal action recorded in the program was the principal’s declaration of graduation and the confirmation that seniors were eligible to receive diplomas under the cited state and local authorities. The ceremony served primarily to acknowledge individual student achievements and to mark completion of graduation requirements.